


a shield you are not

by Phoenix_Allura (Artemis_Autumn_Marie)



Series: Nix's Whumptober 2019 [4]
Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: F/F, Friendship, Hurt Thomas (Maze Runner), Hurt/Comfort, Like, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, POV Alternating, Racing, Running, Whumptober 2019, a lot of fun, and also, but there is whump, scorch trials, they have a lot of fun, you can pry rosa and frankie out of my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 07:30:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21316468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis_Autumn_Marie/pseuds/Phoenix_Allura
Summary: Whumptober day 4: Human ShieldThomas is finding that these girls aren't so bad.Minho and the others disagree, but they'll stay anyway.You can never know what WICKED is planning, after all.
Relationships: Harriet/Sonya | Elizabeth "Lizzy" (Maze Runner), Minho/Thomas (Maze Runner)
Series: Nix's Whumptober 2019 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1507226
Kudos: 28





	a shield you are not

The first thing Thomas noticed when he woke up was that he was untied.

“Move it!” Sonya yanked him to his feet and shoved him. “Or do you want to be tied up again?” Thomas kept pace with her, saying nothing.

“Good.” Sonya offered him a small smile. They walked without stopping until noon, keeping better time than he thought the Gladers had.

“You’re with us.” Sonya tugged him over to sit with her and Harriet. “We may have accepted your presence, but that doesn’t mean we have to like you, and most of these girls don’t.”

“How far back do you think your boys are?” Harriet asked him.

“We certainly never kept this pace. They’re a ways behind us unless they walked through the night and this morning.” Thomas answered.

“Good to know. I might want to keep you around, Thomas.” Harriet tossed him a sheet-bag of food. “Enjoy.” He didn’t mention that they’d been at risk of running out of food until they come across Brenda and Jorge.

“So, Thomas.” He braced himself for the inevitable Teresa question. “What will your boys do if they happen to reach us?”

“Minho has a temper, but he’ll be more worried about if I’m safe. That might calm him a bit, and I don’t think any of them will actually try hurting you.”

“Interesting. I think we’ll take a little longer break for lunch today.”

“You just want to see what will happen if they find us.” Sonya accused lightly, laughing. Harriet shrugged.

“So what if I do? Besides, Aris is with them.”

“It would be nice to see Aris again.” The girls started chatting about their Maze and Thomas stayed quiet, eating the slightly sandy food he’d been given.

"Someone's coming! A girl shouted from her watch perch. "A group!"

"Thank you, Rosa!" Harriet shouted back. "Start packing up, everyone." Thomas stuffed his sandwich in his mouth and helped get things together, taking the pack Sonya handed him wordlessly.

"It's the boys!"

"Have they seen you?"

"No; I can see them, but they can't see me." 

“Then let’s get moving. Thomas, up front between me and Sonya.” The girls settled back into a formation and they began walking again.

“I expect they’ll catch up by this evening, if they’re that determined to get you back,” Harriet said after a few minutes.

“They’ll have to break to eat and they move more slowly. Given that they walk through the night, I’d say they catch when…” Thomas thought, then made something up. “When the moon is a quarter way up.” Sonya snickered into her hand.

“Smart boy. We should keep him, Harriet.”

“Don’t be hasty, Sonya, his boyfriend wants him back too.” Harriet chided, but she was laughing. “And we’ll have to meet up with them at some point, there’s something waiting for us and all need to be there to get it.”

“Let’s wait, make them chase us.” Sonya grinned. “When night falls we’ll sleep, with Thomas guarded. And in the morning we’ll say they can join us, but Thomas has to stick with us.”

“Sonya, I think he wants to see his boyfriend,” Harriet told her gently, reading something in Thomas’s face and body language.

“He can, but he has to stay with us.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Thomas agreed quickly, though he suddenly missed Minho, an ache in his chest. Sonya smiled at him and wrapped a quick arm around his waist, giving him a squeeze.

“If I had to spend days without Harriet, I’d be sad too.” They kept walking, speaking quietly, Rosa and Frankie keeping a careful eye on the Gladers behind them.

“They’ve stopped,” Rosa reported. “Should we stop?”

“No, we’ll keep walking for about half an hour, and if they haven’t started moving, then we’ll stop,” Harriet answered.

“We’re at least an hour ahead already.”

“We want them to follow us anxiously and with haste. They’ll catch up tonight.” They kept moving, stopping soon after when the Gladers hadn’t moved, taking a water break. Sonya encouraged Thomas to attempt to braid her hair. They spent the rest of their day walking and talking companionably, and Thomas thought that seeing their leaders interact with him so easily warmed the rest of the girls up to him.

As soon as it got dark, Harriet stopped them for the night. They set up several small camps in a circle, with Thomas, Harriet, Sonya, Rosa, and Frankie in the middle.

“Each group sets up their own watch,” Rosa explained. “And you aren’t being in ours because that defeats the purpose of having you guarded.”

Thomas kept his eyes closed when he heard Rosa speaking.

“Back up!” She was growling, lowly. “Leave us alone.”

“We just want to talk to Thomas-” Minho! They’d finally caught up.

“You can talk to him in the morning. Let him sleep.” Rosa backed them down, not without grumbling, and Thomas settled back into sleep. He’d see them in the morning.

“Thomas!” Minho pulled him close as soon as he stood up, squeezing tightly. Thomas rested his head on Minho’s chest, listening to his heartbeat.

“We have conditions if you’re going to travel with us,” Sonya said, staring at the Gladers. “Thomas stays with us. You follow behind and keep pace.”

“We set a harsher pace than you. If you can’t keep up, we leave you behind.” Harriet added, then threw Thomas a bag. “Eat up.”Thomas sat back down and handed out food to Rosa and Frankie, then handed some up to Minho, who was looking shocked. Thomas took a bite of his bread.

“Thomas, are you okay with this?” Thomas nearly rolled his eyes. Would he have been sitting here eating if he wasn’t?

“Sit and eat, Minho.”

“You may mingle during meals, and Thomas may pick one companion at each meal to join him.” Harriet sat down and took food from Thomas’s bag.

“Really, Minho, they don’t bite.”

“Thomas, they were threatening to kill, what, three days ago? And you’re friends with them now?”

“Yes, Minho. Sit and eat.” Minho hesitated a moment longer, then sat beside him. Slowly, the rest of the Gladers sat, separated from the girls.

“Stay up here?” Thomas asked Minho as they packed up to leave.

“I might be needed back there.” He glanced at where the Gladers were gathering.

“I can head back and lead them, if that’s what you’re worried about. We’ll do a leader swap.” Harriet said. “Thomas, you help Sonya call breaks and set pace. Minho, if you want to switch, just slow your pace until we’ve met up.” Before Minho could say anything, Harriet had turned and walked away. Thomas shrugged and pulled his sheet tighter around himself.

“All set, Thomas?” Sonya shut him a grin, then raised her voice. “We’re heading out! Get moving!” She burst into a sprint and Rosa gave chase. Frankie tapped Thomas.

“Race you to her?”

“Depends. Think you can win?” She laughed and took off. Thomas stayed at her heels and was soon running alongside her.

“You two always tie.” Sonya high-fived them. “Minho didn’t follow you.” Thomas gave a half-hearted grin.

“I didn’t think he would. I’m sure he’s going to stick the morning out, then return to the Gladers. They think you’ve brainwashed me.”

“That sucks, I know you’ve missed him.” Sonya patted him on the shoulder.

“You like being among the girls, though,” Frankie said softly.

“When you’re not trying to kill, you’re pretty cool.”

“You can just say we’re friends, Thomas, that’s okay.” Rosa teased. “I’d hug you, but your boy over there is looking kinda mad.”

“At me, not you, probably.” Everyone caught up quickly; Rosa and Frankie fell into their normal spots just behind Thomas and Sonya. Minho took Thomas’s hand.

“Why were you running?”

“It was for fun, Minho, a race. We’ve had a couple.” Thomas told him. “As hard as it may be for you to believe, I trust them. I like them. They’re good people and my friends.”

“They were trying to kill you, Thomas.”

“Yes, and they listened to me and made the decision not to kill me.” Thomas paused, seeing in Minho’s face that he didn’t believe him.

“You trust too easily, Thomas.”

“I’ve missed you, Minho,” Thomas admitted quietly. “I’ve missed talking to you, and cuddling at night. But I’ve also been having fun. I like Harriet, Sonya, Rosa, and Frankie. They’re smart, fun, and tough, and I like them as people. You only them because they were told to kill me. You were scared. I get that. I was scared too. But, Minho,” Thomas took a deep breath, tucking into Minho’s side, “They don’t want to hurt me, to hurt any of us, anymore. They have no reason to. We need numbers for what’s coming and they know that. Besides, with all our supplies combined, we have a surplus.”

“I’m not going to ask why you know that.” Minho chuckled. “I’ve missed you, too, you stubborn shank.” Which, for Minho, was as good as saying that he’d give them a chance.

“Pace, Thomas?” Sonya asked after a moment. Thomas glanced ahead of them, up at the sun, then back at the group.

“We need to move faster, about 250 steps per minute.” He heard Frankie and Rosa sharing the news behind them even as they all shifted their pace to a near-jog. Thankfully, after days of walking at similar speeds, they were all used to it.

At high noon, they broke for lunch. Harriet came up to say the Gladers were keeping up well and that if they wanted to make it to today’s goal, they needed to move faster.

“Move faster? What does she mean?”

“Something like 350 steps per minute. Of course, we don’t actually know how many steps we’re taking, but it helps. We told you before, we keep a fast pace.” Minho had pulled Thomas onto his lap and was cradling him protectively like Sonya and Harriet were going yank him away and kill him at any moment.

“Yeah, you did.”

“No PDA!” Rosa yelled, and then she grinned as they both made noises of protest. Seriously, they hadn’t even kissed yet today (or ever; they hadn’t realized their affection was mutual until Minho had absolutely freaked when Thomas had been shot, and Thomas had woken up in the hut asking for him. They were a mess.). After pulling everyone to their feet, they started jogging again. As the wind started to blow, Thomas sighed and tucked his hands into the sheet, adjusting it. No need to wind and sand-burned if he could help it.

By nightfall, they reached the end of their journey. There was a sign and a few pods waiting. Huge pods, holding what Thomas didn’t know. No ship, no people, nothing.

Until a man stepped out of one of the pods.

“Hello, children. You’ve made it.”

“Yeah, now give us what you promised.” Sonya snapped, shifting her weight from one leg to the other before standing straight.

“Now, now, children. That won’t do. You’ll speak with respect or you’ll not speak at all.” A woman stepped out of the same pod. “May I teach her a lesson?”

“Of course, Darlene.” As crazy as it seemed, all Thomas could think was: ‘Darlene? Really?’ She walked along their line, inspecting them.

Then the other pods started to open.

“They aren’t supposed to be opening so soon!” She exclaimed.

“Well, I guess you’re going to have to find a way to defend yourself, Darlene.” The man was closing the pod they’d stepped out of.

“You have to fight them.” The woman turned to them, a crazed look in her eyes. “You have to fight them.” She looked at them all intently. “And you must win, or… or…” She seemed to come to a conclusion. “Or I’ll use one of you as a human shield!” They all backed away, but they were tired and sore and scared, and she could move fast, it turned out.

She grabbed Sonya and Thomas, yanking them from the group.

“Now, children, fight them. Fight them, or these two die.” She turned her attention on them. “Girl, you have a spear. Use it for my defense or I kill him. Boy, defend me with your life or she dies.” The creatures, looking a bit like Grievers, seemed to be taken out by striking the bulbs, Thomas thought as he watched the others fight, though distantly. Then he was shoved straight into the claws of one such creature.

He managed to pop three of its five bulbs before he blacked out.

He woke up less than a minute later, still being held by the creature. Sonya was being attacked a few feet away, but it looked like she was holding her own and he couldn’t help her right now anyway. Darlene was swiping at him with a knife--no, not him, but the creature. Thomas braced himself, then kicked out at the lit bulbs. He managed to get both legs free, still kicking. He connected with another bulb and the creature slowed enough for him to pull his upper body and arms free. As he did, Sonya charged over and knocked out the last bulb, killing it.

“You good, Thomas?” She asked.

“Yeah, you?”

“A little sore.” She glanced around. “Looks like everyone else has taken care of the rest.” Thomas had no doubt of that; there were more of them than there were creatures. 

“Climb into the pods!" Minho yelled. "There's a storm coming!" They all remembered the first storm, and no one wanted to be caught in it again. Thomas and Sonya ran to catch the others; Minho and Harriet pulled them into their pod.

"You're both ok?" Harriet asked after they had slammed it shut. They nodded.

"What about you?" Thomas leaned against Minho; he was suddenly feeling exhausted and achy.

"We're good. I think we've only got scratches among the whole group of us." Minho answered, running his fingers through Thomas's hair. "You've got a bump on your head, babe."

"Hadn't noticed," Thomas mumbled.

"Well, are we just going to wait out the storm in here, or are we going to--" The pod started shaking.

"That's something bigger than a storm." They exchanged glances and pried the top open a bit. There was a ship, like the one that had come to pick up Thomas earlier--though much bigger--and Darlene was sprinting toward it.

“Well, if she wants to kill herself, good riddance,” Harriet muttered.

“They’re not shooting at her,” Minho said. “They’re talking to her. Like she knows them.”

“Think it’s WICKED?” Sonya asked, and Harriet and Minho snorted almost in unison.

“Of course it’s WICKED. Has it ever been anything else?” Minho smiled grimly. “Let’s get out of here. After all, we have business with WICKED too.”

“It still could be a trap,” Sonya said. “We shouldn’t send everyone at once.”

“We’re right. Just the four of us. Our girls will listen when we ask them to stay behind--will your boys?” Harriet spoke lightly, but it still sounded like a challenge.

“They’ll listen, but insist on being close by as backup.” They opened their pod; surprisingly, it opened quietly.

"You were not to interact with the subjects, Darlene." By now only a few feet away, they could hear quite clearly what was being said.

"Janson," Thomas whispered, but his voice carried.

"Yes, Thomas, it was interesting to see the reaction to you in both groups. I can't say I'm surprised to see you alive, though. We are here to collect you and bring you into safety, as was promised at the beginning of the trial." After a moment's pause, he waved them away. "Get the other subjects. We are here for all of you."

"Leave those two here!"

"Ignore her. All of you go, get your friends. There's medical attention and food inside." It was tempting; they couldn't stay out here much longer. But they didn't want to be back under WICKED's control, either.

(It hadn't yet occurred to them that they had always been under WICKED's control.)

"This is a decision we make as a group," Thomas said. "Come on." He leaned against Minho for a second more before pushing away. They headed back to the others, who were all out of their pods and waiting impatiently.

“What was that bloody talk for?” Newt asked sharply.

“They’re offering food, medical attention, and shelter,” Sonya said. “We need to decide, now, if we’re going with them.”

“Going back with WICKED?” Frypan snorted, but Rosa and Frankie, next to him, were nodding.

“Think about it. We don’t have supplies out here, not enough to last all of us longer than a week. It’s dangerous and we don’t have shelter, the city is not safe for us. If we get hurt we have no way to treat the wound.” Rosa pointed out. “And it’s not like WICKED wasn’t tracking us, they’ve got to have a way. It’d be stupid of them if we’re their prime experiment.”

“She makes a good point,” Thomas said, before slapping himself mentally. They already thought he was brainwashed. “Out here, we’ll be dead or close to it in a few weeks. With WICKED, we may not be entirely safe, but they probably won’t kill us just for the sake of killing us.” Unlike the Cranks. Newt sighed and walked over to join them.

“If we’re going, we’re going now.” Reluctantly, the rest of the Gladers came forward. Harriet and Sonya turned to Group B.

“We’re coming,” Rosa said. “Race you, Thomas?” Thomas rolled his eyes; what was it with these girls and races?

“Only if I can join.” Harriet cracked her knuckles. “I’ll leave you both in the dust.”

“Sounds fun.” Thomas let a grin play on his lips, stepping away from Minho.

“Thomas, wait--”

“Oh, let the boy have a little fun, Minho.” Frankie spun Thomas into line. “It’s just a race. What could go wrong?”

“Three, two, one… Go!” Sonya started them off, fairly this time, and Minho sighed, watching them run off.

“What is it with you and races?” He asked Sonya as the rest of them followed.

“They’re fun and harmless, and we’re bored enough as it is. We sorted room chores by races in our Maze. Didn’t you?”

“No, you were assigned a job and you did it. And… I’m worried about Thomas. He acts differently around you than he does us.”

“Younger?”

“Yes.”

“That might be because Harriet and I, despite being in leadership roles, actually have fun with our group. We joke around a lot. You don’t.”

“We’ve always been serious.”

“We use a lot of sarcasm and dark humor.” Newt put in. “Your jokes seem to lighter.”

“Probably are. You don’t play around, either, the way we do. We race on a daily basis. Speaking of, we better catch up.” Sonya jogged ahead, the rest of the girls following her.

“Thomas has been bloody strange, but I don’t think he’s brainwashed,” Newt muttered, just loud enough to be heard. “And even if he is, he’s one of us, and we’re not leaving him behind.”

“Who has time for playing around when lives are on the line?” Frypan scoffed.

“Children do,” Aris spoke suddenly, surprising them all. “We’re still technically children. Sonya isn’t older than fifteen. Thomas can’t be either. At this point, we’re walking straight into the hands that have melded us for their own purpose, and we all know it. Why not have fun while we can?”

“Thomas is sixteen,” Minho mumbled, hearing Newt agree beside him--with him or Aris, he wasn’t sure.

"Let's catch up with the others. Can't have them doing something stupid without us." Minho wasn't sure who said it, but he agreed. They needed to stick together when it came to WlCKED. They could see the others in a group ahead, talking.

"We need a plan. WICKED has a plan, we need to figure it out and then find a way out of it." Thomas nodded as the Gladers approached. The girls were excellent at strategizing, and from what they’d told him, they’d had a far better plan to escape than the one he’d… led? No, led felt wrong. He wasn’t really the leader of the Gladers.

That was Minho.

“We’re waiting!” Janson called.

“Whatever we’re doing, we need to decide soon; they’re going to pull up the ramp if we don’t.”

“Thomas is right,” Sonya said. “Get over here, boys, we’ll talk as we walk.” It wasn’t a long walk, but they managed to relay what they’d decided, Thomas, Minho, Sonya, and Harriet staying in back to ensure everyone got on.

“They’re not even trying to hide the fact that they’re making it hard.” Sonya shook her head. The ramp had started rising as soon as the first few people were about halfway up, and they’d all have to jump to get on it.

“We’ll go first, we’re taller.” Harriet gestured to herself and Minho. Sonya and Thomas rolled their eyes, already moving. Them being taller meant they should go last. Anyway, there was room for all four of them.

They nearly fell anyway.

Minho and Harriet hauled themselves up fine, until the ramp speed up. There were others, helping them to their feet, grabbing at Thomas’s and Sonya’s wrists; Thomas’s head slammed into the ramp and he thought he could make out Newt and Frypan above him.

“Hurry up, children!” Janson called, sounding bored. “You do all want to make it on alive, don’t you?” Thomas scrambled onto the ramp, sliding down until he hit the floor, dozens of people surrounding him, Janson at the front.

“Oh, there is the special boy. Teresa’s waiting for you, so let’s get your head all fixed up and move along.”

“Teresa?” Thomas asked, touching his head even as blood filled his mouth.

“Yes, you know. I believe you have some memories of her.” Janson yanked Thomas up, clearly intending to lead him away, only to find Rosa with her spear in his face.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” She warned.

“Let go of him.” Frankie was holding a gun--something from the guards.

“How--”

“While you were distracted, we were taking down your guards. Now let go of Thomas.” Newt’s brows were drawn tight.

“No, I don’t think so. There will be reinforcements here any minute, and…” Janson moved so Thomas was directly in front of his heart, head just under his chin, and pulled out a knife. “If you want to kill me, you’ll have to kill him, too.”

Their hands stayed steady, and Thomas wanted to cheer. Janson had a weakness here: His head. Yeah, he could try and slice through Thomas’s throat, but the knife wasn’t that close to him, and he’d be dead before doing any real damage.

Rosa, Frankie, Newt, Frypan, Aris, Minho… They all looked like they knew it.

"If you kill me, you lose all chance of seeing each other again."

“I doubt that.” Newt snorted. “You can’t control that.”

“Can’t I?”

“No,” Thomas said. “You’re right when you say I remember something. You’re not in charge here.” The girls readjusted their aim, Rosa stepping back, preparing to throw.

Janson ducked, pulling Thomas with him.

The spear passed through Thomas’s shoulder and sank into Janson’s stomach.

Everyone charged at once, some of them rushing to Thomas, others to guard the doors.

Minho stared at Thomas, who was sinking to the floor.

“Thomas, you’re going to be okay. They have doctors here.” Minho slid his legs under Thomas’s head, not caring that he was getting covered in blood.

“I know I’m going to be okay,” Thomas told him. “And Rosa hit my bad shoulder, so I’ll only have one.”

“Only you would be thinking of that. Can you walk?”

“Yes; there’s nothing wrong with my legs, Minho.”

“Do you want to walk?”

“No.” Minho picked Thomas up; he was lighter than he maybe should have been.

(They all were.)

“He’ll be fine.” The doctor, who had been carefully watched the whole time, reported. “He needs fluids and rest, and food, but that goes for all of you. Any other injuries I should know about?” Sonya shook her head.

“Everyone else is fine. Now, where can we shower and sleep? There’s a group of us who would _prefer _ to be near Thomas.”

The way she said it implied there would be issues if anything else happened. As soon as the doctor left, showing only a few of them to the showers, they began planning. First, watches. Second, how they were going to take over and/or get out.

“Minho, go shower.” Harriet finally ordered, late into the night. “Watches are set, so I want you sleeping until yours is up. Thomas is going to fine.”

“I know.” Minho sat for a moment longer before leaving the room.

“He’s so stubborn, Thomas.” Harriet sighed, taking Minho’s spot.

“I’sa trade. Both stubborn, but we’re learning how to talk.” Thomas muttered. “Hey, can I be on the watch rotation now?”

“No!” Harriet whisper-exclaimed, but she was laughing. “We can talk about that after you’re better.”

“Tell Minho when he gets back that I want to cuddle.”

“Are you telling me to take him off watch?”

“...More like asking if you’ll let him do his watch from my bed.”

“Sure, Thomas. Whatever you’d like.” Harriet rolled her eyes. “You sure you’re gonna be out before he gets here?”

“Yeah,” He yawned, “I’m still tired. They’ve got me on a high dose of drugs, I’m guessing.”

“Then go back to sleep. I’ll make sure he gets the message.”

And if when Minho slept through his watch, curled up with Thomas on the bed, well, Harriet certainly wasn’t going to tell anyone.

**Author's Note:**

> AHH!  
Hey everyone,  
This is. So late?? and I'm sorry but also this was fun to write, oddly enough, and it's longer than most of these so far. I am going to keep writing for this. I've got a couple breaks coming up after exams, and I'll see what I can get done then. Comment your thoughts!!  
As always,  
Phoenix


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